Texas Ethics Commission:

An Inventory of Ethics Commission Records at the Texas State Archives, 1979-2003, bulk 1992-1994

Agency History

The Texas Ethics Commission was created by a constitutional amendment which the voters approved in November 1991 (Article III, Section 24a); it was established by Senate Bill 1, 72nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1991, and began operations in January 1992. It has the following powers: to pursue sworn complaints alleging violations of state ethics laws (investigations into sworn complaints are confidential, but formal hearings on allegations are public); to penalize violators of state ethics laws; to sponsor ethics training and informational programs, and to explain compliance guidelines; to issue advisory opinions, which apply ethics laws to specific situations of fact; to require regulatory agencies of the executive branch to develop rules for the commission's approval that limit the acceptance of benefits from regulated entities; to recommend salary levels for members of the legislature and the lieutenant governor, which are submitted to the voters at the next general election; to set the per diem paid to legislators and to the lieutenant governor.

The laws and regulations that the commission enforces include those concerning the following: political contributions and expenditures and political advertising; lobbyist activities; financial disclosure and conduct of state officers and employees; and the contributions and expenditures for the race for speaker of the house. Prior to the creation of the Ethics Commission, the Secretary of State's office administered the filings required by these ethics laws. The advisory opinions which the commission issues concern these laws as well as laws governing bribery, corrupt influence, and abuse of office. These advisory opinions can be used as a defense in a criminal prosecution or in a matter involving civil penalties if the defendant relied on an opinion of the commission in making decisions regarding his or her behavior, or if the defendant's situation is substantially similar to that outlined in the opinion (the identity of a person requesting an advisory opinion is confidential).

The Ethics Commission consists of eight members representing the general public, serving overlapping four-year terms. Four are appointed by the governor, two by the lieutenant governor, and two by the speaker of the house, all of them chosen from lists provided by senate and house caucuses representing political parties required by law to hold primary elections (currently the Democratic and Republican parties). They are non-salaried positions, and the members annually elect a chair.

The Ethics Commission was preceded by a Public Servant Standards of Conduct Advisory Committee, created in 1981 to expire in 1983 (House Bill 3, 67th Legislature, Regular Session); and a State Ethics Advisory Commission (appropriation: Senate Bill 22, 68th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1983).

(Sources include the appraisal report (May 2000); the Guide to Texas State Agencies, 10th edition (1999); the article by John G. Johnson on the Texas Ethics Commission in the New Handbook of Texas Online; the Texas Ethics Commission Strategic Plan, FY 1998-FY 2003; and the Texas Ethics Commission web site (http://www.ethics.state.tx.us), accessed November 2005.)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas Ethics Commission has the following powers, which are documented by these records: to pursue sworn complaints alleging violations of state ethics laws; to penalize violators of state ethics laws; to sponsor ethics training and informational programs, and to explain compliance guidelines; to issue advisory opinions, which apply ethics laws to specific situations of fact; to require regulatory agencies of the executive branch to develop rules for the commission's approval that limit the acceptance of benefits from regulated entities; to recommend salary levels for members of the legislature and the lieutenant governor, which are submitted to the voters at the next general election; to set the per diem paid to legislators and to the lieutenant governor. The Ethics Commission was preceded by a Public Servant Standards of Conduct Advisory Committee, and a State Ethics Advisory Commission. These records consist of copies of minutes and agenda of meetings, organizational charts, Texas State Ethics Advisory Commission opinions, and candidate-officeholder and specific-purpose political committee contribution and expenditure reports. Overall dates are 1979-2003, bulk 1992-1994.

The summary minutes include the following: advisory opinion requests (AORs), usually with the question and a summary answer (these form the most voluminous part of the minutes); commission comments, executive director comments, and comments from the public; discussion and action on proposed rules; briefings, discussion, and possible action on a variety of other items, including the budget, the strategic plan, the electronic database, interagency contracts, training programs for state employees and members of the legislature, an imaging system to replace the microfilming of archived records, requests to waive certain fines assessed for late filings of reports, etc. No minutes have been located by the Ethics Commission or by the State Archives for either the Public Servant Standards of Conduct Advisory Committee, or the State Ethics Advisory Commission, predecessors of the Ethics Commission created in 1981 and 1983.

There are five organizational charts of the Texas Ethics Commission, dating July 2001-February 2003. Names of all 35 to 36 employees are included in these one-page charts, along with their job titles.

Advisory opinions consist of copies of 29 ethics advisory opinions issued by the Texas State Ethics Advisory Commission in 1984 and 1986, the bulk of them from 1984. Each opinion contains a brief statement of the request for opinion, the opinion itself, and a summary of the opinion, and is signed by the chairman of the State Ethics Advisory Commission. The opinions concern such issues as lobbying activities and expenses, campaign contributions, travel, personal use of state equipment, amendments to financial statements made after filing, loans by candidates to political action committees, use of political contributions to purchase a residence, compensation for services rendered by the executive director of a state regulatory agency to an out-of-state industry in the regulated field, etc.

The largest group of records are the contribution and expenditure reports of candidates and officeholders, and of specific-purpose political committees, with associated correspondence, dating 1979-1996, bulk 1992-1994. Included are accounts from primary, general, and special elections. The following officeholders (and candidates for those positions) are required to file these reports with the Texas Ethics Commission: statewide elective offices (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state comptroller, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, railroad commissioners, supreme court justices, and court of criminal appeals judges); state senators and state representatives; courts of appeals justices; members of the State Board of Education; district judges; district attorneys from multi-county districts; and certain county chairs of political parties. Each candidate, campaign manager, or assistant campaign manager was required to keep a record of all funds received and disbursed. The reports include the following: names and addresses of all contributors of more than $50 aggregate, plus the amounts; names and addresses of all persons and entitites receiving expenditures of more than $50 aggregate, plus the amounts and the purposes; and a summary.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, bank account numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.136); driver's license numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.130); and home addresses and phone numbers of government employees or officials (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.117), an archivist must review Candidate-officeholder and specific-purpose political committee contribution and expenditure reports before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 552). The researcher may request an interview with an archivist or submit a request by mail (Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P. O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711), fax (512-463-5436), email (Dir_Lib@tsl.state.tx.us), or see our web page (http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/agency/customer/pia.html). Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information. If our review reveals information that may be excepted by the Public Information Act, we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision. Alternately, the Archives can inform you of the nature of the potentially excepted information and if you agree, that information can be redacted or removed and you can access the remainder of the records.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas Ethics Commission records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1998/025, 1999/101, 2000/056, 2001/051, 2001/155, 2003/060, 2003/179, 2003/191, 2004/006, 2005/145

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Ethics Commission on October 15 and November 4, 1997; January 28, 1999; October 29, 1999; October 31, 2000; August 31, 2001; October 21, 2002; July 22, 2003; August 19, 2003; September 8, 2003; and May 31, 2005.

Processing Information

Tony Black, February 1998, June 1998, October 2002, August 2003, September 2003, November 2005

Appraisal Information

Texas State Archives staff completed an appraisal of the Texas Ethics Commission records in May 2000. Thirteen series on the agency’s retention schedule were determined to be archival: Legislative appropriation requests, Strategic Plans, Organization charts, Meeting agenda and minutes, General-purpose political committee contribution and expenditure reports, Candidate-officeholder and specific-purpose political committee contribution and expenditure reports, State officers personal financial statements, Speaker of the House reports, Correspondence - administrative, Filer notebook lists, Sworn complaint orders - non-confidential, Training materials, and Published ethics opinions.

The archival requirement for the legislative appropriation requests, strategic plans, and organization charts is fulfilled by sending copies of the legislative appropriation requests and strategic plans (which contain organization charts) to the State Publications Depository Program of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The Texas Documents Collection holds legislative appropriations requests dated 1992-2005 (for FY 1994-FY 2007), and strategic plans for the years 1992-1998 (published in 1992), 1995-1999 (published in 1994), 1998-2003 (published in 1998), and 2001-2005 (published in 2000), received via the State Publications Depository Program.

Correspondence - administrative, Filer notebook lists, Sworn complaint orders - non-confidential, and Training materials have so far not been transferred by the Ethics Commission to the Texas State Archives. State officers personal financial statements and Speaker of the House reports have been transferred to the Texas State Archives by the Secretary of State, but not by the Ethics Commission.

Accruals

The Ethics Commission transfers copies of minutes and agenda to the Texas State Archives regularly, usually on an annual basis.

Other Formats for the Records

The Texas Ethics Commission periodically mounts its recent minutes and agenda on the agency web site (http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/tec/meetings.htm). As of November 2005, this includes minutes from Commission meetings dating January 2003-September 2005.

Location of Originals

The record copies of minutes and agenda are maintained by the Texas Ethics Commission.

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Detailed Description of the Records

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